Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on Sunday to help medical representatives and production workers facing retrenchment as a result of the merger of four multinational pharmaceutical companies.

The dreaded dengue disease took the life of another child in Cebu City last week making her the sixth fatality this year. The child was the first dengue victim in barangay Sudlon II this year. The five other dengue casualties in Cebu City since January came from barangays Labangon, Lorega-San Miguel, Binaliw, Guadalupe and Camputhaw.

Members of the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo-Pinagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (NADSU-PISTON) will stage a protest rally this morning against the increase in fines for traffic violations imposed by the Land Transportation Office.

The Cebu City government has already decided to compel the close to 100 urban poor families occupying the lot owned by the Ortega family in barangay Hipodromo to vacate the place because the city will no longer pursue its earlier intention to expropriate the lot.

EXTRA services like police cars patrolling their office buildings and road repairs were promised to Cebu City's top taxpayers last night, with the mayor assuring that taxpayers can dictate where they want their taxes to go.

A buy-bust operation last Saturday evening in Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City, saw the arrest of four persons, including an alleged nephew of the city's vice mayor. Arrested was Victor Amores, 42, reportedly a nephew of Lapu-Lapu City Vice Mayor Mario Amores, and a Level 2 drug pusher in the watchlist of the PDEA. The others arrested were Josephine Borbon, 42, and siblings Lala Dumatumao, 19 and Mila Dumatumao, 20, all residents of Bulacao, Cebu City.

The head of the influential Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is not too keen on having the House of Representatives have 100 more members as proposed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

China's dispatch of a state-of-the-art patrol ship in the South China Sea does not necessarily smack of gunboat diplomacy, but Malacanang has admitted it was taking this action seriously. China has dispatched its most modern patrol ship to the South China Sea, state press said yesterday, after an incident with a US naval vessel and a fresh claim by the Philippines to a disputed territory. China has deployed a large fisheries patrol boat to a group of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Opponents of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States criticized and belittled the phone conversation between President Arroyo and US President Barack Obama and said the campaign to abrogate the agreement will continue.

United States President Barack Obama and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in their telephone conversation on Saturday night, did not speak specifically about the fate of American soldier and rape convict Daniel Smith, a Department of Foreign Affairs official said on Sunday.

Solons were unimpressed by the telephone call of US President Barack Obama to Pres. Arroyo as she failed to assert or raise the issue of the Philippines' sovereignty in the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), particularly in the custody of rape convict, US Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has warned of elements that could "spoil" the Mindanao peace process consultations and may derail the decision of stakeholders in addressing the struggle of Moros for self-determination in Mindanao.

President Arroyo"s security adviser on Sunday admitted that the government"s approach in dealing with the spate of kidnappings in southern Philippines is "weak." "We create task forces or panels to negotiate for the release. In the long run it would be damaging to the communities. We should be more forceful in combating kidnapping. We should reassess and possibly change our policy," said National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

Malacañang vowed to let the ax of justice fall on anyone who would be proved to have been involved in the killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, in 2000 regardless of political stature.

Former Internal Revenue Commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato wants to dissolve the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and create a single revenue authority to improve the government's revenue stream.

There's nothing like having good old, reliable Rosell Ellis around. The ageing but graceful import returned for another tour of duty for Alaska and finished with a double-double in his first game back as the Aces humbled the Purefoods Giants, 94-84, and handed out Tim Cone his 602nd win - the most in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) history.

After scoring "statement" victories the other night, Z (the Dream) Gorres and Milan Melindo of Cebu's fabled ALA (Antonio Lopez Aldeguer) stable are looking forward to bigger game as they come closer to clinching world title shots.

The uncooperative weather yesterday afternoon failed to dampen the spirits of thousands of residents and tourists who flocked to San Francisco town in Camotes Island to witness the celebration of the town's eighth Soli-Soli Festival.

ONE of the tallest men in the world is in Cebu as part of a tour to raise funds for surgery he needs on his right leg. Ijaz Ahmed, 26, stands 8'4" and wears 22-inch shoes. He weighs 287 pounds. The Pakistani national plans to visit Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña today to seek permission to set up photo booths in the local malls, where he can ask for donations from those who want to have a picture taken with him.

Actress Kristine Hermosa admitted being affected by the rumor that Diether Ocampo is to tie the knot with his new love interest. The wedding rumor circulated after Ocampo introduced his new love interest to the public, Rima Ostwani.

Luzon will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered light rains, while Eastern Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Northern and Eastern Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the east and northeast with slight to moderate seas except during thunderstorms.